Keep her friends warm

Fourth-grader in Quang Xuong district of Thanh Hoa province, Hoang Ngan, used to be a timid girl lacking courage to take part in any extracurricular activities with her schoolmates. Earlier this school-year, Ngan would still depend on her mother’s help to pick clothes and put textbooks in her bag.

Now, on the contrary, Ngan has become agile and confident as one of the core members of her schools’ Communication club on disaster prevention and mitigation.

During the cold snap at the beginning of 2016, Ngan and other club’s members conducted communication sessions to instruct over 200 students on how to keep their body warm. They also managed to gather more than 100 secondhand jackets for students in difficult circumstances.

“Before, I felt very uncomfortable when my mom tried to put hat, scarf and socks on me. Besides, most of my classmates were thinly dressed, so I didn’t want to look different,” said Ngan.

“Then I found out that their parents usually had to work far away from home, so they had no one remind them how to dress properly. Without warm clothes, they can easily get pneumonia. I want to share with them about ways they can protect themselves from the cold.”

This change happened after Ngan’s teacher encouraged her to be part of the Communication club. Being surrounded by not only the outstanding students but also those with difficult circumstances or disabilities, Ngan has learnt how to be in harmony with her peers.

Within three months, Ngan and other club members gained new knowledge of cold snap, storm and flood beside communication and presentation skills. Thanks to their communication, no students got sick during the last cold snap.

Moved by the progress Ngan is making, her mother said: “I feel so happy now that my daughter can take care of herself as well as others.”

The Communication club on disaster prevention and mitigation in which Ngan participates is one of the efforts by World Vison’s Coastal Areas of Thanh Hoa Province Resilient to Natural Disasters (CATREND) project in cooperation with schools in Quang Xuong and Hoang Hoa districts to equip students with knowledge of natural disasters and self-protection skills.

Le Kim Son – Teacher at Quang Xuong district